Whole Wheat Breadcrumbs

Are you a better parent if you make all of your children’s food from scratch?

Hahaha, I’d better hope not! In the course of my life, I have definitely made my own bread, yogurt, ice cream, cheese, tortilla shells – you name it. All 100% from scratch. And ALL before I became a parent. Post baby? I’ve made none.

While it’s fun and educational to get into the kitchen and cook from scratch, I think there’s a misconception that cooking this way is healthier. The truth is that in many cases, commercially prepared products use the same ingredients and are just as good for you. So my advice to busy parents (and anyone, really) is that if it spares your sanity to buy it pre-made and the ingredients aren’t all that different (check the labels carefully), just DO IT!

In a few cases, the commercial versions of foods actually do use less-than-ideal ingredients, though. Baby yogurt, for example. Presently, all flavored baby yogurt has at least some added sugar, so I make my own (not 100% from scratch though – I start with commercial plain yogurt!) But believe me, the day it’s available in stores without sugar (I hear Stonyfield is working on a version) I’m going to buy it!

I cut the crusts off before drying this batch, but only because I was starting to see a little mold! If your crusts look good, just leave them on.

I haven’t found a brand of whole wheat breadcrumbs with ingredients that I like, but I also haven’t looked very hard because making these at home is SO easy and I always seem to have bread that’s about to spoil. I mostly buy sprouted 100% whole grain bread like Ezekiel 4:9 bread from Food for Life Baking Company because I like the ingredients and lack of preservatives, but this method will work with any type of bread.

Note that this recipe is for unseasoned breadcrumbs. Try adding your own combination of salt and herbs to jazz it up if you’re using these in a recipe that calls for flavored breadcrumbs.

Whole Wheat Bread Crumbs

Ingredients

Sprouted 100% whole wheat bread (any amount)

Directions

1To completely dry out the bread, preheat the oven to 200F. Arrange bread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Place bread in the oven and turn the oven off. Leave the bread to dry out for several hours or overnight.

2Process bread into crumbs using a high-speed blender or food processor. Transfer crumbs to an air-tight container.

Diana K. Rice, RD

The Baby Steps Dietitian

Hi, I'm Diana. Registered dietitian and mom to a toddler and a newborn. Family nutrition is my passion but balancing good health on top of the chaos new parenthood brings is tough stuff! Join me as I navigate feeding myself and my family, one baby step at a time.